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[MadMaxGR]

QUOTE(Screwy1981 @ Jun 10 2009, 07:11 PM)

hi guys, i've just tried heatgunning my xbox xenon motherboard, was getting the e74 at first then red ring with the error code 0101.

so i heatgunned my xbox and left it for half a hour as stated, now im gettin a 3rr and error code 0022..

this is sayin gpu error or gpu overheating.. i've applied plenty of thermal paste and that so it shouldnt be a problem.. any ideas?

Plenty thermal paste doesn't make good! make it even worse. Re-apply the thermal paste but only a thin layer over the chip. Try again and let me know.

[Screwy1981]

QUOTE(MadMaxGR @ Jun 11 2009, 01:33 PM)

Plenty thermal paste doesn't make good! make it even worse. Re-apply the thermal paste but only a thin layer over the chip. Try again and let me know.

completly cleaned the chips of paste.. reapplied usin a tiny blob on each and still the same (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Screwy1981]

any ideas?

[colt45joe]

instead of using thick plastic foil to wrap the motherboard.. can i use a t shirt? and cover the tshirt with aluminum foil?

This post has been edited by colt45joe: Jul 5 2009, 09:59 PM

[Beezerk2001]

I've heatgunned both my 360's over the last couple of weeks, both are working fine, both had 3RROD's before hand.
I did similar to the original post, however I also heatgunned the bottom of the board to ensure the solder joints are done there as well.
Take care when rebuilding the heatsinks, the washer spacings you use are critical, you can offer up some washers against the chips before you fit the heatshrinks to get an idea of what kind of height you require.
I also left the motherboard unscrewed from the case to make sure there was no extra stress put on it, I have mine laid down when I play anyway so it makes no difference to me.

I'd previously tried the overheating method but that only worked for a week or so.

Fingers crossed it will be more permanent this time  

[nerdout]

QUOTE(bosnia_9 @ Jul 24 2008, 12:55 PM)

I know first page says do front then back.. but its been said later on in the thread do the back then front.. but either way is alright i guess... but i would first do BACK

No first do the BACK and you dont need to cover anything in the back because your only focusing on a specific area and there is nothing to damage if your careful: Focus on circled area


Do this on 1minute (low/warm up/1st setting on your gun)
4minutes - 2nd option /high
In just normal circles

When you do this for around ~5min TOTAL, leave the board ALONE DONT TOUCH ANYTHING for 45 MINUTES. (id say like 1hour is good)

go get the board and cover everything in the FRONT like those pictures show (using 2 layers.. 1 is the wrap paper/plastic and 2nd layer is aluminum foil (cooking foil))

then heat the front same way focusing on the open area 1min - low setting 4 min is high setting
around ~5min TOTAL leave the board alone for about another 45min (1hour) and dont touch it!

then go take off all the foils off carefully, reapply artic silver 5... do the x clamp fix and play!
Still confused?

Hey bosnia question man, i did a re flow on a 360 i did 1 minute under side on low flipped it over and did high for 4 minutes on the top side, the xbox is still working great and its been a month... i now have a box with the 0013 error, will re flowing this beast fix it?

QUOTE(nutty600 @ Mar 22 2009, 12:12 PM)

cant get hold of a heat gun but will a good hair dryer do the trick ? it a powerful one !
as if the xclamp dont fix my 0020 error ill give this a bash, failing that a new 360 !!!

A hair dryer might work for a few hours/days, but if you want to do it correct use a heat gun. Hair dryers only get up to about 80c~90c, solder melts at 218c~220c i believe.

[purity_2010]

do you binliner then a few layers of tape then a few layers of bubbel wrap then foil would be ok to use as insulation?

[accat13]

Thanks for the tutorial Wilhelm_I.
I hope i have succeeded in fixing a no video but sound error.Received this xbox for free so nothing to loose(plus it is now jtagged .I used aluminum foil,aluminum tape and pink fiberglass insulation as an isolator.The home depot aluminum tape adhesive sure started to smoke.When the tape lifted, as I was heating it up I was a little concerned.I may not have lasted the complete 4 min LOL.All that smoke was starting to get me concerned.All seems well so far though my son has been playing for a few hours with no errors.I think with the variety of heat guns and there temperature variations plus fan speeds 4 min. must be an average good time that seems to be ok for all..Well I have my fingers crossed that this is more of a long term fix then the xclamp replacement 12v mod combo.
Thanks all for the previous tips and postings concerning above

[nafeasonto]

Why waste your time friggan doing all this foiling.

You do NOT need to heat up the entire board.  I have had two Xbox 360's go RROD, (my main one, and my jtag one, my friends and others.)


90 % of the time it's the GPU.  I don't have a reflow station soo..

This is all I do:

Complete remove all heatsinks from mainboard.

I literally HOVER the heatgun above the GPU for EXACTLY 60 seconds. NO less no more.  You will see the entire board bend to accommodate the broken solder joint.  The solder will become malleable underneath the GPU. Do not touch the GPU, do not push on it, NOTHING OR IT WILL GO BYE BYE.  AS you will smush the solder joints.  THEN you def need a professional reflow.

Then I have literally left the xbox alone for 30 minutes. ALONE NO TOUCH.  Don't even move the table your on NOTHING. OR you WILL destroy the board.

Then I just x clamp the hell out of it, and what do you know it works.  So far with this method both my xboxs have been working for a YEAR.  Whether it e79, 0102, whatever.  This works.  And my friends have never had any issues either.

Doing this "super" method is a WASTE of time.  Unless your CPU truely has a broken solder joint, otherwise just focus on the ONE area the has the issue.

60 Seconds NO MORE NO LESS ON HIGH.  Any longer and you risk burning the board, and blowing a cap.

Oh by the way, none of my caps EVER puff from this method. As long as the heat is focused.

[PeteBest]

Thanks nafeasonto, that was just the sort of post I needed to give it a try fixing two 360s. Fixed a 2 light 013 memory error and a 4 light 0102 error both using xclamps and the heatgun trick without any isolation (just being very careful around the caps) Tried just the ripping of the xclamps first but that didn't fix either one. Quick burst with the heatgun and they're both back in action!

[Locohead]

Let me state for the record that I tried this, and it did not fix it.  It was tried on a board which had previously responded to traditional un-x-clamp methods, but then stopped working again.  naf was not specific about how far to hold the heat gun from the board, apparently I had it closer than he did.  He said 4 inches in private message.  Hopefully my board is not ruined.  It now gives 3ROD with error code 0020.

Pete, some questions since you had success:

- Had you previously tried anything else to fix those machines (such as x-clamp replacement & normal overheat)?
- How many inches did you hold the heatgun from the board?
- How intense would you describe the "burning smell" from the board, if any?

I can try my board again and I also have another, un-heatgunned board to try.  I'm leaning towards the traditional isolated heatgun method since naf's method did nothing for me (or worse.)

[PeteBest]

QUOTE(Locohead @ Aug 24 2010, 05:44 AM)

- Had you previously tried anything else to fix those machines (such as x-clamp replacement & normal overheat)?

Yeah, I'm a bit lazy so I always try the easiest options first. I tried xclamps on both systems first of all, neither stayed on long enough to be able to do the GPU overheating trick.

QUOTE(Locohead @ Aug 24 2010, 05:44 AM)

- How many inches did you hold the heatgun from the board?

About 2-3 I guess, constantly moving the heatgun.

QUOTE(Locohead @ Aug 24 2010, 05:44 AM)

- How intense would you describe the "burning smell" from the board, if any?

Yeah, there was a bit of a burning smell, but I always use liquid flux whenever I use the heatgun, so that might be making the smell.

The system with the 0102 error has got some graphical corruption now, so I've got to look at that again. It wouldn't even make it to the dash before I looked at it, so I'm at least one step further.

[norite]

I'm sorry, but i just want to stick my oar in here and say that IMHO, this tutorial is not a very good one, for a number of reasons.

1) The motherboard *must* be bolted down to something. otherwise it will warp and there's a very good chance that the solder underneath the gpu or cpu or both will merge, still giving you the RRoD and possibly with a different error code. And once this happens, no amount of reflowing in the world will fix it....the only way to fix that is to have the chips removed and reballed.

2) You *must* make use of a temperature probe/thermocouple to carefully monitor the temperatures. Lead free melts at about 220C so you must achieve this temp underneath the gpu for a few seconds.  just guessing at 4 minutes or so is no way to gauge what's going on.  

3) You *must* use some sort of preheater underneath the board first, and keep it hot during the reflow. The bottom of the board should get to around 150C.. Otherwise only one side of the board will get hot, the heat wiill be unevenly distributed and you won't get a good reflow.

4) There is no need for the heavy bubble wrap and other insulation. A small square cut into a sheet of foil, small enough to expose the gpu but big enough to cover the whole board and taped down around the gpu with electrical tape or some other heat resistant tape is enough.

5) In 99.99% of cases, it's the solder under the gpu that needs repairing. Exposing the cpu, ram, southbridge and blasting all these with heat and no idea of the temperatures is a really good way to break something else...

6)For any kind of rework/reflow stuff, some sort of flux *must* be used, it 'wets' the solder and helps it stick properly, forming a good join.

Follow this tutorial at your peril...!